Mike Pence Uses CNN Hit To Attack Trump, Hegseth

Pence said he supported Trump’s tougher approach toward Putin, which he ascribed to the GOP’s “isolationists” losing momentum with the president after criticizing Trump’s assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Bolduan finally switched the topic to recent CNN reporting that Pete Hegseth had unilaterally halted arms supplies to Ukraine in response to escalating Russian attacks. In recent days, Trump has been questioned about who blocked the weapons shipments, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday, “I don’t know.”

Below is a transcript of the exchange:

BOLDUAN: “I saw you almost shake your head in disbelief at what the reporting has been, which is, today we learned that U.S. weapons shipments are starting back up to Ukraine.”

Pence: “Right.”

BOLDUAN: “But this comes after the reporting is that the Pentagon paused shipments on some weapons, signed off on by the Secretary of Defense, without the knowledge, without informing the president of the United States. The idea that a decision that big was made without getting the approval of, or even informing the president of the United States, does that make any sense to you?”

Pence: “Well, look, when — when you’ve served at the level I’ve served at, it’s a big government. And a lot of people in your agencies and in departments are making decisions all the time. But that one was troubling to me. And my bet is it’s very troubling to the president. I — my expectation is that he’ll get to the bottom of it. He will — he will find out who initiated that decision. But the most important thing is that he reversed it. And — and — and made it clear in a phone call with President Zelenskyy last Friday that the — the support is going to continue to come. Now, I — I will say, and I say respectfully to the president, if he’s looking on, this isn’t just about defensive weapons.”